1964 Chevrolet Impala - The Calling Card

Done up Harmon's Style

Since the beginning of the hot rod industry, it's been all about "calling cards,"-a seemingly irrelevant concept at first, we know. Well, don't think of that as a literal term, but rather more as a metaphor. When a shop starts up, one of the first things on the agenda is to build a wicked-awesome vehicle to get its name out there. Whether it's a recognizable shop truck, show car, race car, or push car, those vehicles attempt to burn an everlasting memory into our skulls, and therefore become the shop's "calling card." Harmon's Chevrolet Restoration Parts is no different . . . or are they?

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When we said they wanted a junker, we meant it. Check out this Impala; it looks as if someone painted it rust and black camouflage!

For those of you not familiar with Harmon's, they supply and manufacture restoration parts for just about any classic Chevy you can think of. Throughout their 32 years of business, projects have come and gone, but to keep things fresh and new, they decided it was time to cook up a new calling card. This one, however, would be a little different from its predecessors. Although the plan was to take it to events and advertise the business, there was also a hidden agenda. Harmon's wanted to build the car completely in-house and from the catalog, for two reasons. The number one reason was to show that Harmon's has all the necessary parts to build a classic Chevy. Secondly, Harmon's wanted the chance to let their employees turn wrenches and become familiar with not only the Harmon's catalog of parts, but the restoration field, as well. We guess you could say it's a real "hands-on learning experience."

Once the wheels were set into motion, the next order of business was to decide which type of car to buy. Somewhere along the totem pole, it was decided the car of choice would be a '64 Impala two-door hardtop. When it came to finding a car, Harmon's took a completely different approach from the rest of us. Typically, when we go out looking for a car, we want it to be in the best condition at the best price. As for Harmon's, they pretty much want the most beat-up and decrepit car at the best price! Why? Simple-the more work they have to do, the more the employees can learn; Harmon's catalog parts can be used, and the more it reinforces the fact that they truly do supply all the necessary parts to get a wide variety of Chevys up and rolling. To give you an idea of what the project is all about, Harmon's let us snoop around a bit. What we found will absolutely astonish you. Seriously, we're not kidding. Check it out.

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